Marine Hall

Su Pollard has done many things in her 47 years as a professional actress, singer, comedy star and all round entertainer… but one thing she hasn’t done is host a question and answer evening with a live audience! All that is about to change as she embarks on her latest theatrical venture next month. The Nottingham-born star is about to tour the country with her one woman show, ‘‘And another thing ....An Evening With Su Pollard’.

The show comes to Thornton Little Theatre on Saturday 26 February, beginning at 7.30pm.

It will mark a welcome return to the Fylde coast for Su. Back in November she was given a standing ovation for her tour de force solo performance at Blackpool Grand Theatre in the play Harpie. In that play, by Philip Meeks, she played a woman who had become a virtual hermit inside her home, which was crammed with items she couldn’t throw away. The audience found themselves treated to the whole range of Su’s talents, with perfectly-timed comedy giving way to deeply moving pathos.

Su, 72, said: “That was wonderful play and Philip did the most incredible research - everything he wrote was based on fact, so many people are like that character. It was the promotor of that show, Tony, who asked me to do this latest one I’m doing. And I thought why not? I have never done a Q and A before but I thought, I can do this. There are things I known I can’t do, like trying to be a ballet dancer, but this is a real opportunity. If you put things off in life you may never end up doing them, time just flies by. So I’m doing this and I’m looking forward to visit all these smaller theatres.”

After 47 years in the business, Su has a lot of material to work with, including TV hits Hi-de-Hi, You Rang M’Lord, Gimme Gimme Gimme and a Benidorm Christmas special. After some early years in “am dram” in Nottingham and some work in local clubs, she decided to audition for a production of The Desert Song in London. She was accepted and never looked back. During the 1970s she appeared in numerous stage shows, including a tour in the musical Grease in a company that also included Tracey Ullman.

Su eventually appeared in a now forgotten sitcom in 1978, Two Up, Two Down, in which she played a hippy named Flo with Paul Nicholas. It was not a success but fame was just around the corner when she won the role of dippy chalet maid Peggy in a new show, Hi-de-Hi. Did she know it would be a success?

She says: “You can never tell. I remember having a drink with (fellow cast members) Ruth Madoc and Paul Shane after we filmed the first series, and he said ‘Here’s hoping it will be a success. The next thing I knew was that I was walking down the road after it had been broadcast and someone said ‘Hi-de-Hi’ to me! And that was that!”

Su has not performed at Thornton Little Theatre before but she was heartened to hear that her old Hi-de-Hi pal Jeffrey Holland (Spike) had performed there in a one-man play about Stan Laurel.

“I must ask him about the dressing rooms!” she said.

Tickets are available now! Book here or via the Box Office on 01253 887693.